Allegacy Federal Credit Union, along with the YMCA of Northwest North Carolina, is set to participate in a two-year research study examining the heath and well-being of Allegacy members by researching the trends of their visits to the YMCA, their financial savings habits and more.
The study will be financed with a grant awarded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and will be conducted by the Sustainability and Health Initiative for NetPositive Enterprise (SHINE), which is based at the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Researchers will also compare the patterns over time for members in the credit union’s AllHealth Wellness Savings Account to those not in the account.
“We have been in close partnership with the YMCA to identify how we can positively impact the wellbeing of our shared members, and the community, using new and innovative approaches,” Garrick Throckmorton, Allegacy’s VP of strategy said. “This partnership caught the attention of Harvard researcher Dr. Eileen McNeely, who will spend the next two years researching the impact that such a collaboration can have on individuals, families and communities at large.”
All members of the YMCA of NWNC are eligible to open an AllHealth Wellness Savings Account to earn the participation incentive and opt into the research project.
“We are honored to be a part of this study and have long believed businesses have a unique opportunity to positively influence the overall well-being of not only their workforce, but the entire community,” said Cathy Pace, president and CEO of the $1.3 billion Winston-Salem based Allegacy, said in a statement. “By participating in this research, we plan to play an influential role in the way wellbeing is being viewed in the country.”
